Trapped
by Belisse
Summary: [COMPLETE]Cameras, the Ancient gene, a Wraith loose in the city, a new character, a near crashed puddle jumper and someone calls Sheppard the resident flirt god. Third in the Friends are foes Series.
1. Camera Work

**Title: Trapped**

**Pairing: Mention of S/W but is barely there.**

**Spoilers: General knowledge of season 1. Nothing specific.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, only the original characters. This is just for fun so, don't sue!**

**Warnings: A bit of language and rude attitudes. The S word mostly.**

**Summary: Cameras, the Ancient gene, a Wraith loose in the city, a new character, a near crashed puddle jumper and someone calls Sheppard the resident flirt god.**

**A/N: Reedited and revamped on September 7, 2005. There are things that might be a little different, but in overall is pretty much the same fic. I just wanted to fix it and had it beta'd ever since I included it on my Friends are Foes series. Just as a general warning, knowledge of my fic The bet is on! Might be good but not necessary. Thanks a lot to CeeKay for the help and tips.  
**

**Enjoy!**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter I: Camera Work**

Major John Sheppard was now walking toward the briefing room. Something had happened and they needed him; apparently one of the civilians was lost in an unexplored part of the city. As he walked into the briefing room, Elizabeth, Lt. Ford and Sgt. Bates were already there. He took a chair and quickly sat on it. "So… who's missing?"

Elizabeth stared at the small camera in her hands. Unsure if it was wise to give it to John, she said, "This morning Sgt. Bates's team was reconnoitering an unexplored section of the city. The area had previously been damaged by the storm, they found this." She handed the camera to Sheppard.

John stared at it. "It's a video camera," he said, not comprehending the importance of the object.

Elizabeth gave him a hard glare, "It's not the camera, it's the footage that is disconcerting."

John opened the little screen to the side. "Is it set?" he asked. Elizabeth nodded, and John pushed "Play". The screen came alive, it was for a moment moving around a lot, and then a young woman's face appeared. John knew instantly who she was. _Why her?_ The woman had her hair pulled back in a weird messed up bun. Now she looked at the camera and smiled. "This is Stella Roig from sector C, Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. This is B roll footage, so today I'll be shooting mostly filling. If anyone ever sees all the raw footage I have of Atlantis they will have a big picture of how Atlantis looks. Which is basically the same everywhere." John noticed that she was speaking rather fast, she quickly continued, "This area was a bit damaged by a storm; I thought that since I don't have anything to do – ever – I could come by and do a little scouting." Now Stella stared right at the camera. "Believe me, it beats being harassed by Dr. McKay." She smirked, probably at an inside joke.

Stella now disappeared from the screen and the camera started moving toward a long hallway. Her voice could still be heard, "Ok, boring, boring, hallways, rooms, more balconies, oh…" She had stopped talking and was now approaching a set of doors leading towards a balcony. "Nice view! This is definitely better than the southwest pier. Not that it matters; now that place is always invaded by some couple. As if we don't have enough balconies. I wonder if Major Sheppard already knows about this place." The camera now moved outside, Stella continued talking, "Probably… maybe that's why he's the resident flirt god."

John's mind did a double take; he stopped the tape and looked at Elizabeth, "What the hell is this?" John noticed that Ford had a small smirk across his face, Elizabeth replied, trying to remain calm, that he really needed to watch the tape. No matter how much he hated Stella. "John, keep watching please."

Reluctantly John pushed play, Stella was still going on her rants but all John could see was the ocean, "Not with me of course, the man hates me. Also, no one here seems to notice my presence. It's only, Stella, touch this, Miss Roig, activate that. Hey! Don't put a camera there! I should have stayed in earth…" Now Stella seemed to be holding on to the railing taking some great shots of the view, "At least there I could go to the movies, buy new books, or maybe just pretend…." There was a loud metal sound and Stella stopped talking.

John could see that by the movements of the camera, that Stella was trying to walk slowly back into the hallway. The sound was heard again, more menacing this time. Suddenly John couldn't see anything straight; all that was heard was Stella's screams and the camera sliding down the now apparently broken balcony.

The camera hit the floor of another balcony; the lens captured Stella hitting the floor. She now lay on her stomach, unconscious. She woke up, her face full with worry. It looked like she was unharmed as she crawled towards the camera and picked it up. The camera moved unfocused, maybe she was making sure the thing was still working. Her voice was heard again, "Shit!"

The camera moved again, it showed that she was on a lower balcony, maybe lower than anyone has been. She spoke again, "Damn it! It's ok… ok, no one has to know. I'm sure they haven't noticed that I'm gone. Here's a door, I'll go inside and it'll be like nothing happened."

The camera moved again, this time towards the door, which opened to let her inside. The area looked as if a bomb had hit there. There was glass on the floor, the hallway was covered in rubble on one side and the other appeared to be a dead end. The camera focused on an intercom panel near Stella.

From the camera's point of view, John could see that Stella was trying to work the panel. It came alive, she tried to call somebody, but it didn't seem to work. She cut loose with some of her more colorful vocabulary, then she kept working on the panel. And other features appeared, and she started speaking. "Ok, intercom not working. But I got a map, and it says that the side that is not covered in rubble is a dead end. So I'm trapped, great!" She laughed sarcastically, the camera moved again. This time she focused it on the ceiling above the rubble and found a hole there. By the movements of the camera she was now climbing up the mountain of rubble.

The camera moved, unfocused, for a moment, and was placed on the floor, maybe while she climbed up. While the camera was there, the lens captured some movements at the end of the hallway. Stella must not have noticed this, as she was heard struggling to climb up. John knew of the moment she achieved her goal when she said, "God, I need to exercise more."

She grabbed the camera and the previous suspicious movement was caught again. Stella started walking in the direction of the movement. John didn't know if she had noticed, but watching this made him feel he was watching a horror flick. Just before reaching a corner, she slowed her pace. Ok, she saw the movement. Right on the corner, she stopped and moved the camera so she could see who was on the other side.

What John saw was not good, and it wasn't good for Stella either. There was a Wraith on the far left side, working on a panel. Her voice was heard again, this time in gasped whispers, the camera started to shake, "Oh shit! Wraith, wraith, there's a wraith here. I'm dead!"

As she moved the camera away from the corner, the Wraith looked straight at the lens and smirked. Stella was now moving slowly backwards, but footsteps were now heard, and she whispered again, "Shit."

The camera no longer pointed anywhere in particular, and she was running flat out, and screaming, "Oh no, no, no, no, I'm about to get eaten! Shit!"

John looked at Elizabeth, "This looks like the Blair Witch Project." Elizabeth ignored him and John continued watching the video. Stella appeared to walk into a transporter, but it wasn't working. She was now cursing and the tape stopped. Bates was the one who broke the silence, "Miss Roig was last seen last night, and we found this at noon today."

John closed the small screen on the camera and replied, "Did you checked her cave? She may be hiding there."

Ford started, "Sir, I just checked her quarters and workplace, she is not there."

"Damn it!" John sighted and looked at Bates and Ford, "Gear up. We'll leave in ten minutes."

Lt. Ford and Sgt. Bates stood up and walked out of the briefing room. John slowly stood up and glared at Elizabeth, "Just promise me that you will deal with her once we're back. That girl is a menace."

Elizabeth's lips tightened a bit, "John, you should learn to put the past behind you. That incident was a long time ago. And she assured me that she only did it because you were ignoring her right in the middle of the training."

Sheppard half shouted, "She nearly killed me!"

Elizabeth stood up, "Oh, don't be so melodramatic, John. I would have done the same thing in her position."

"She just gets on my nerves."

Elizabeth gave John half a smile, "Only because you let her. Now, go and come back in one piece."

John shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder how she managed to come here." Then he turned around and started walking out of the room.

As he did, he heard Elizabeth's voice. "She had the same luck you had!"

Then John made his way towards his quarters, in order to get ready for the rescue mission.


	2. The Damsel in Distress

**Chapter II: The Damsel in Distress.**

Ford, Bates, and Sheppard met in the control room. Sheppard began, "We'll check her quarters and workplace again, then we'll leave. She might have left some clues that might indicate where exactly she was going to be. That will give us a smaller area to search."

Sheppard turned around and looked at Peter Grodin. "Is there any way to get that whole area on the sensors?"

Peter punched a few buttons on the console in front of him, then replied, "The area where the camera was found was heavily damaged by the storm. There is no way I will have those sensors running today."

Sheppard nodded. "We'll stay in radio contact, and hopefully we'll be back for dinner." Sheppard turned around and looked at Bates and Ford. "Let's move out."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Stella's quarters fairly standard-issue: a small bed in the corner, a desk and a chair. On her walls she had two posters: one of the movie _Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,_ and a smaller one of the painting _The Morrighan_ by Amy Brown.

Her desk was filled with camera tapes and papers, the chair was full of clothes and the bed was made. The trio looked around but found nothing, then Ford picked up an open notebook and started reading. He paused for a moment, then said "Whoa, she writes as if she hated being here."

Now Sheppard moved to the exit and replied, "That woman is a walking contradiction. Let's go."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Stella had found refuge for the last hour inside of what it looked like a storage cabinet. She was very uncomfortable, but she knew that the damned wraith was around and she couldn't afford to get caught; again.

Just before walking in this room, Stella had seen a trash chute at the far end of the room. If someone didn't come soon and the Wraith appeared again, she would consider going through it. But first she had to make sure the Wraith was not near.

She opened the cabinet door and looked outside. Everything was in calm. There were no sudden moves or illusions. _He might not be around…maybe…_She closed the door and considered her situation, now a splitting headache was forming. Could be from either or both of two things: injuries from the fall from the balcony, or the fact that she hadn't eaten anything in a while.

She really wished she could have a life signs detector right now. Stella felt tired, and hadn't heard from the Wraith in a while, so she opened the door again and crawled out of the cabinet. Once outside she stood up and stretched, then she opened her backpack and took out the last bit of water she had left.

She took a small sip of the precious liquid and looked around the room. The moment she had walked in here, she hadn't noticed that the place looked like some sort of recreation room. She made a mental note to return here with a camera when the area was declared Wraith-free.

Right now she had two choices: she could walk out the door and be attacked, or stay in the room and wait for the Wraith to discover her. Stella decided to take her chances; she grabbed the backpack and slowly walked out of the room. If the Wraith was going to kill her, it would be better to fight than wait for death.

Once out of the room, she noticed that everything was clear so far. Right now she was one or two levels down from where she had lost her camera, which placed her at approximately sea level.

Stella was moving slowly, careful not to make a sound. She saw the door to the transporter at the end of the hallway. She decided to try it again; maybe this time it would work.

She heard a sound, and felt her hairs standing up and her senses on high alert. Then, as she got closer to the transporter, she saw something: a Wraith illusion. _He knows where I am_. Stella decided to walk faster; she saw the Wraith's illusion again and stopped. She decided against her will to turn around; a few feet behind her the Wraith was smirking at her. _Damn it!_

Stella turned around and started running, but instead of going into the transport, she followed a hallway to the right. Then it was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, she saw some stairs she hadn't seen before she had slowed her pace. Just beside it, a door to her left. But before she ran to it, something hit her on the back and she landed a couple of feet away on the floor. For a moment she felt confused. She turned and lay on her back. The Wraith was smiling and getting dangerously close.

Before she could react, she had the clammy hands of the Wraith were wrapped tightly around her neck. Her hands were free and were frantically searching for something that could help her get rid of the creature. "You are a feisty one, very uncommon in this galaxy." He was enjoying this and she knew it. Her hand found exactly what she was looking for: a very sharp piece of glass.

She took it and slammed it to the Wraith's face, right in his left eye. Confused for a moment the Wraith lost his grip on Stella and she took advantage of it. She stole a glance at the creature, he had the glass still in his eye and his face was covered with blood. Her body shivered. She had stabbed him in the eye, how disgusting was that?

She staggered for a moment, and then ran toward the stairs. Stella had climbed half of the steps when she felt something at her feet. Something had grabbed her and pulled her down. In an instant she lost her balance and fell face first to the steps. She knew it was the Wraith making another attempt at sucking her life out. All she knew was that she kicked and screamed, but then at some point her head hit one of the steps. All she could feel was the sensation of being dragged by her feet by a very angry Wraith.

He stopped once he was away from the stairs and kneeled beside her. In her mind everything was racing, _where is help when you need it? _Her sight was unfocused but she knew the look the Wraith was giving her.

Then there was a loud sound, and the Wraith disappeared from sight. Stella saw figures moving around her as everything went black.

-0-0-0-0-

The world was a swirl while every sense came back to normal. Stella heard voices around her and slowly opened her eyes. She had her back against a wall, and Stella noticed that they were still in the hallway. _What are they waiting for?_ Sheppard and Bates were speaking in hushed tones, "It'll be better to take her back and then return with a full team."

Stella just had to interrupt, "I think he disabled the transport, they come in but don't go out." The three soldiers were startled when she spoke.

Sheppard looked confused. "We can use the one we used to get here, it didn't look damaged to me."

Stella felt her head swirl again, "We can go and try but I think it's pretty sure that he damaged it." The swirl was at it again, She felt nauseous. Lt. Ford kneeled by her side and offered her some water, and she took it gladly. She saw that Sheppard and Bates were talking again, Stella returned the canteen to Ford and glared at him. "How long have I been out?"

"About ten minutes."

Then another question plagued her mind. "How did you know where to look for me?"

Ford took the canteen and replied, "Sgt. Bates's team found your camera."

Absently Stella repeated, "My camera." Then it dawned on her, _Oh shit! _ "My camera? And…did anyone see the tape?"

Ford recalled her rants on the tape and a small smile shot across his face. "Everyone saw the tape."

_Oh…God I'm dead!_ Ford had to bite his lip in the fight to control a wave of laughter when he saw Stella's expression. Her face had changed to be half amused, half worried. But she was also trying to repress a laugh.

Stella stole a glance at Sheppard, who was now talking on his radio, and then she looked back at Ford. "Was he angry?"

It was Sgt. Bates the one who answered, "Fuming."

He now knelt beside Stella and gave her a smile; she smiled in return. "Hi Colin… less chance for me to step into a Puddle Jumper?"

Bates, who was searching through his vest, took out a bandage and replied, "Possibly in a million years." Bates opened the gauze and pressed it against the base of her neck, where Stella hadn't noticed she was hurt until he touched it. "Damn it!"

Ford was looking at them with interest, "I'm sorry, I know is not my business, but I really need to ask. What did you do to him to make him hate you so much?"

Bates and Stella shot glances at each other. Ford stared in disbelief. "You knew? You knew and you didn't told me?"

Bates got defensive. "Hey! I'm sworn to secrecy. I don't tell."

Stella smiled at Bates and then looked at Ford, "It's just because I…"

Sheppard who closed in on them and cut her off Stella. "I just informed Dr. Weir, Dr. Beckett will be waiting for you. Let's move out."

_Yes sir!_ Stella wondered if the man was made of stone as Bates and Ford helped her stand up. Once on her feet, she discovered that her back was aching like hell, and her head hurt. But other than that walking could be done. She looked at Bates, "How do I look? Do I look like hell?"

Bates was now checking if his gun was ready when she asked the question, he looked at her and said with a crooked grin, "You look like crap." And then he moved towards the Major.

Stella smiled at Bates and said sarcastically, "Why thank you my dear Sergeant."

Then they started walking up the stairs, Ford keeping to her side as Sheppard and Bates were covering front and back.


	3. Barks and Rants

**Chapter III: Barks and Rants**

They slowly went up the staircase; Stella remained quiet while the guys made sure the Wraith wasn't following them. She was beginning to feel dizzy, then suddenly felt cold and clammy. She looked at Lt. Ford. "Do you have something to eat?"

Ford searched his vest and took out a power bar.

Stella looked at it askance. "Don't you have something else?"

"Sorry, no." Stella thought of her stack of granola bars in her room, which tasted way better than these power bars. She mentally kicked herself for not bringing any food. _Hopefully someday I'll learn. _

Then she heard Sheppard. "Beggars can't be choosers." Stella decided to ignore the remark and ate the power bar without complaint. They were now on their way to the transporter in the upper level. The pain on her back had faded a bit, but still made her move like a defective robot.

John stole a secret glance at Stella while she ate. He now felt bad, if only they…no if only he hadn't acted like a child having a tantrum, they would have gotten here before she got hurt.

Ford looked at the young woman beside him, now taking notice of her appearance. She was wearing sneakers, not the usual military boots. Her pants were the standard black kind, but she wore a black tank top that had the drawing of a squirrel with really big glasses and a needle stuck in the forehead; then the message, "My mom overmedicates me."

If it weren't that she wasn't looking good, he would have joked with her about it. But at least she was alert. He had noticed that she had gotten pale, but right before he could ask her if she was ok, Stella had asked for something to eat. He noticed that after eating she was looking down, maybe spaced out, so he decided to keep the conversation going. His curiosity about what happened with the Major would have to wait. "So… why did the US government want you to be here?"

Stella looked at Ford. "I have the gene."

"But you're not military or a scientist, and you weren't working at the SGC either. How did they find out?"

Stella started massaging her lower back, "Because of my best friend."

"How so?"

"He worked at the SGC, with one of the SGC off world teams. Apparently, he liked to collect a rock from each planet he had been, sort of a personal record. And one day I was in his house, I always knew he was doing something strange in his work. Because he was a soldier, what the hell does he knows about "Deep space telemetry"? So this particular day, I was looking through his weird collection of rocks. Most of them looked like common rocks; I thought he had them for some sort of weird decoration. One of them had a inscription, it was small, but nice, so, I picked it up and it lit up like a Christmas tree."

Stella stopped. She didn't like talking about her life, so why does she has to share it with them, but Ford pressed on, "Then what happened?"

"My friend saw what happened, and he started saying that he was going to get fired. One thing led to the other and next thing I know, Dr. Weir was in my apartment talking about the Stargate, aliens, and genes. Luckily for my friend he truly believed that the thing was just a rock, so the Air Force didn't punish him."

To Stella's shock, it was Major Sheppard the one who spoke next. "But how did they knew your gene was a strong one? There are a lot of people in earth that posses the gene. Somebody else could have lit up the stone and you wouldn't be needed here."

Stella was taken aback for a second, then replied, "I know what you mean, Major. I know I'm no scientist or a respected–" Stella emphasized in that word– "soldier, but the thing is that my friend had the gene and the stone didn't work when he grabbed it. I guess you're not the only one here by pure chance."

"What makes you say that?"

Stella smiled, and replied coolly, "Because if you had never sat down in the chair, no one would have discovered you were a strong gene carrier, and you would have stayed on Earth. Doing whatever interesting thing you did before coming here. That… would have made my life much easier."

Sheppard kept quiet. Bates felt it was a smart move, because he knew that if this went any further, Stella would give him hell.

They kept walking. The transporter they had used was far, or maybe Stella didn't realize at the time that she had walked, or run through this area before. _Having a Wraith following you might impair your senses._

John was now feeling confused, he had tried to shut her up, but instead he was the one who got silenced. He decided to try something different, "So, tell us…what you do here besides walking around with a camera?"

Stella stared at Sheppard for a moment, but then decided to play along. "If some scientist needs a guinea pig gene carrier, well, I'm there. I don't enjoy it so much, so I spoke with Dr. Weir. Now on top of my work I'm in charge of laundry duty."

There was a mix of reactions from the three soldiers around her, Bates smiled, Ford frowned and Sheppard almost turned around to say something, but he seemed to change his mind at the last moment. The sight amused her; Sgt. Bates of course knew, but the other two…

Ford was now staring at her. "That's not nice."

Stella chuckled, "It's not as bad as it seems. I've always liked doing laundry, it gives me time to think. Besides it's better than hanging out with the scientists. Most of them think they're all so great just because they are scientists; it makes me sick. Kavanagh in particular, I can't even work with him anymore."

Ford smiled. _Now this is intriguing, the thing with the Major can wait. _"Why? Can't stand him?"

For a moment Stella wondered if it was wise to answer, then replied, "I hate the bastard. But I can't work with him even if I wanted to."

Stella noticed that Ford was now smiling; he was clearly enjoying this. "Why?"

"Because he said something to me, something really nasty, so I… punched him in the face. I lost control."

They had finally arrived at near the transporter. Sheppard went in and took out the life signs detector, making sure the Wraith wasn't around. He thought about Stella and what she was talking about; that made him remember that day, that damned day when their fight started. How he had practically run towards Elizabeth's office to tell her what just happened, he was angry… well angry wasn't the word, he was screaming mad!

Of course Stella had been called to a behavior meeting with Elizabeth and Sgt. Bates, but instead of being sanctioned, Stella had come out with Elizabeth on her side and a big _"Well done, Stella."_ He thought for a moment and realized that it was that action which had started all this. Now he was saving her, then he heard her say something about losing control with Kavanagh.

He remembered clearly the day that Sgt. Bates had informed him of the incident, and then as he walked inside the transporter he looked at Stella. "Lost control? You were a maniac."

Stella felt as if she'd been slapped across the face. "No I wasn't!"

Now the rest of the group went inside the transporter, Sheppard replied, "You tried to cut off his ponytail."

Stella now looked at Bates who was trying to avoid her gaze – he had told the Major. She would deal with him later, but now more important matters beckoned. "Well… no one calls me an arrogant bitch that should be put down to sleep, and lives to tell the tale." Ford stared at Stella as if she was going to grow claws and would start attacking everyone. Stella felt weird with the look Ford was giving her, "Don't worry Lieutenant, normally I'm not like that. I don't go punching everyone who says something about me. I can control myself. If I couldn't, I would have punched other people already; maybe more savagely." Stella stared at Sheppard, he was clearly ignoring her by now, and Bates was now giving her a 'Drop it!' look. Sheppard scoffed and placed a finger where he wanted the transport to drop them off. But nothing happened, they didn't move.

They all walked out of the transport hearing Stella saying, "I told you."


	4. Setting the Past Straight

**Chapter IV: Setting the Past Straight**

John walked out of the transporter and clicked his radio. Peter quickly answered, "Yes?"

John started pacing back and forth. "Pull out a map and tell me if there's another way out of here that is not by transport."

There was a moment of static. "Why?"

"Apparently the Wraith disabled them. We can't go out."

There was silence. "Ok, where are you? Exactly."

John told him quickly, then after another second of static, Peter answered, "From what I can see, it will be faster to send a team to fix the transport than for you to walk back. If you decide to walk, it could take you at least 4 hours."

That wasn't the answer John wanted to hear. "4 hours!"

"It's all because of all the damage in the area; you will have to go back and forth for a while to get your way back."

John didn't like how things were developing. "Ok, send the team. Now, put Dr. Weir on."

A few more seconds of static were heard. "Weir."

Now Sheppard started speaking in a lower tone, "Hey, it's John… we may have a problem."

The answer was quick. "What's wrong?"

"Transport is broken and the Wraith may be on our tails."

"How's Stella?"

John though about the answer, and tried to give it as calmly as possible, "She's driving me nuts!"

"Calm down, John. She's really not that bad."

As of now, John was trying to control himself and started pacing back and forth. "You know… she actually openly admitted the incident with Kavanagh."

"Oh... come on, John! You know the guy deserved it. Actually, she did exactly what I wanted to do. And besides, she got sanctioned and complied with her punishment gracefully. So stop acting like a little kid."

John massaged the back of his head; he knew the reason he was so distracted today. "You know….this would've never happened if you hadn't gotten angry with me that day."

There was silence, and John knew he had hit a spot. Not good. "John."

"Yes."

"Take care of the Wraith and come back in one piece. Call if you need anything."

John knew the conversation was over before she said the words. "Good–bye, Dr. Weir."

-0-0-0

After walking out of the transporter Stella saw Major Sheppard talking on his radio. Bates was right behind her, and Ford was on the alert. Stella walked toward a wall and slid down to the floor. Bates now crouched beside her, "What are you doing?"

Stella looked at Bates, confused. "What?"

"You are insulting and threatening my CO."

Stella still felt a bit confused as to what Bates was getting at, but she had a pretty good idea. "I have every right–"

But Bates cut her off harshly, "No, Stella. Is not the same when we're in your office and we joke about things. But we are in a dangerous situation right now and you are openly attacking my CO."

Stella felt again slapped in the face, but this time she knew she deserved it, she knew Bates was right. "Sorry, I'll try to control myself."

Bates now relaxed a bit. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I took a beating… but otherwise ok."

Now Major Sheppard had stopped speaking to the radio and turned to face the others, "We're stuck for now. Control just told me that it's going to be easier for us to wait for help than to walk out."

Stella stared at Sheppard. "Aren't you worried about that the Wraith could try to get to us?"

Major Sheppard then answered without looking at Stella, "For now we have more firepower. If he makes a move on us, it would be suicide for him."

Stella tried, she really tried. She knew this wasn't the place for it, but she just couldn't control herself. "Well don't you think it'll be better if we don't hang out in plain sight? We're sitting ducks here."

Ford and Bates could only watch another rant develop, helpless but to watch in morbid fascination to see how far they would go this time.

Sheppard glared harshly at Stella. "Hey! I know you might be scared, but that doesn't make you an expert in this sort of thing."

Stella now stood up and closed in on Sheppard. "Doesn't make me an expert, but I know damn well that Wraith is ready to do anything. All I am suggesting is that we step out of the open and go into a more secured area."

Sheppard was trying very hard to remain calm, but she was just pushing on everything he did. "You know something, I'm in charge here, and I think this place is perfectly ok for us to wait for help!"

Stella was now on the verge of shouting, "Yeah sure, you can be so clever for some situations and a complete moron for others!"

Now it was time to intervene, Bates knew that if this went any further at the present rate, Stella might try to repeat the whole Kavanagh incident. So he stepped between the two. "Ok, that's enough!" He turned around and looked at Sheppard. "I'm sorry sir." Then he turned to Stella, "But if we want to remain alive, this has to stop… Stella, tell him."

Stella was caught completely by surprise, "What?"

Bates was clearly irritated. "Just tell him exactly why you can't keep you mouth shut when he's around. Just like all those times you said to me what you wanted to say to him. Just tell him, now is your chance."

Stella remained silent, now it was the time to talk and she couldn't say a word. _Damn you, Bates!_

John on the other hand was still annoyed but curiosity ran through him like fire, he stared at Stella, "So…are you mute now?"

Stella stayed still; she really didn't know what to say. Bates' outburst had left her speechless, "No… I…"

But Sheppard cut her off. "Then for once could you explain why you did it in the first place?"

Now Stella felt to have her voice and will back and she replied instantly, "Because you were ignoring me! I tried to get your attention and all you said was 'yes,' 'no,' and 'go in a straight line.' What if that was my first time and something bad had happened? Do you know how much I practiced for that day? And instead you couldn't give me a moment of your attention."

No one cared now, they didn't even care if the Wraith was near, this was a nuke that it was about to explode.

Sheppard spat back, "Nothing bad was going to happen. You had control over it and if something went wrong I was there for it."

Stella now laughed sarcastically, "Of course, you are the great Major Sheppard. The only man who can control any situation. Well guess what? That day I gave you something you couldn't control and it ate you up!"

"What are you complaining about? You acted irresponsibly and endangered our lives, and you didn't even got punished…"

Before John could finish, Stella cut him off, "I was punished…you made me an outcast! No one wants to work with me, and if they have to, it's only 'do this and leave'. The scientists think I'm crazy because of what I did, so they don't want me around, and the military obviously stands by their CO. All because I made the great and powerful Sheppard angry!"

John now seemed to be a little taken aback by her comments, but before thinking it twice he spat back, "Not all the soldiers are like that, I see you and Sgt. Bates are quite friendly all the time."

Stella was now shouting, her face red with anger, "Ohhh… the supreme god John Sheppard has taken notice of us mortals. But if you haven't noticed, you have made Bates an outcast within your military group, just because he hasn't agreed with you in different occasions. So it's kind of no choice on his part."

Now Stella looked right at Bates, "No offense."

Bates waved his hands; he didn't want to be a part of this fight.

For once, John understood her point, but it still unnerved him that she could act so recklessly and then be sour about it. He sighed heavily and looked right at Stella. "Still, that doesn't give you the right to go around and hate everybody."

Anger had returned to Stella's face. "I don't hate everybody. I HATE YOU! I can spell it out if you still don't get it. Maybe yes, I acted irresponsibly. There were other ways to get your attention. But you didn't act exactly like a grown up either, and you know what? I should have defended myself, I shouldn't have cared that you are the ranking military officer. But you know what? If I was half as bad as you think I am I would have put some itchy stuff in your underwear a long time ago, and believe me I could get away with it."

Right in that moment, just before John could think of an answer to throw at Stella, they saw an illusion, a Wraith illusion really close to them. The three soldiers had their guns at the ready instantly. Sheppard took out his life signs detector, and he didn't like what he saw. "Ford… you're with me. Bates, stay here with Stella, we'll be back in a moment." Stella was still red with anger, but now she felt a light spot on her chest. She had finally said what she wanted to say for a long time.

She had unwillingly dragged Bates into the whole thing, now thinking about it, she should have done it a long time ago.

Now she wondered if she should have done it in the first place. Yes… that day she was excited because it was her first training run with Major Sheppard, whom at the time she saw as her platonic crush, but nothing more. He was the guy that every girl liked.

But that day she was so nervous, she had practically woken up and headed straight to the jumper bay. She wanted to be the first one to be tested as an auxiliary pilot and she knew she was going to do well. She had been good in all of her other trainings, so why should this one be different?

After waiting for hours Major Sheppard had called her to the jumper bay. Once inside the Puddle jumper, he had started with the common stuff, 'turn it on', 'take it out of the jumper bay', 'head toward the mainland'. But once they were flying deep into the planet, he started with the 'yes', 'no' and 'go in a straight line'. At first she had fallen for it, showing him on the blue screen her flight pattern, which was ok.

Then Stella tried to change her tactics; she really wanted to make sure the Major was paying attention to what she was doing. She started talking, stupid stuff really, but she just wanted him to snap out of whatever he was thinking of. "Well Major… if I pass as a pilot you can join me and the others later on the improvised bar and get trashed with some of the Athosian wine we have."

Nothing. His only response was something along the lines of, "Uhh uhgm."

It annoyed Stella to the core, she careful made her way into space, _maybe that will snap him out of it._ For a minute Stella looked around, then Sheppard seemed to notice, but his reaction had been, "just don't get too far away."

Ok… he had reacted but wasn't he supposed to be aware of every single movement she made with the Jumper? Going into space wasn't in the original plans. He had now returned to his glazed look, and Stella's patience was running low. If he didn't snap out of it, of she'd make sure he never forgot this day. She tried the conversation tactic again, _this one must work!_

It had always worked on her mom when she was younger. "So... Major, if you decide to come by and get trashed with all of the other prospective pilots, well, I managed to smuggle in some weed. I'm willing to share so everyone can talk to the purple chimps and the pink elephants."

She thought of it, she had never touched weed, but that comment always seemed to work at home if she wanted someone's attention. Then his answer came, "Yeah sure."

Stella's mind had to process what he said, he didn't sound sarcastic, just the answer of someone who is really thinking about something else. Anger rose up in her; he didn't care if she was doing well or not. He was in his own little world. The she let the anger get the better of her.

So she made the jumper make a 180 degrees back flip, and with great speed headed straight to Atlantis.

The sudden movement brought him back to reality, and he noticed that they were going far too fast. "Hey! Slow down!"

Stella looked at Sheppard. "Are you gonna pay attention?"

Sheppard was puzzled. "What?"

Stella now turned to look at the screen. "Wrong answer." Then she made the jumper spin around twice.

Sheppard stared at her with a mixture of anger and shock, "What the hell are you doing?"

Losing her temper, Stella shouted, "How the hell are you gonna know if I'm a qualified pilot if you have no idea of what I have done!"

Stella saw in his face that John had no idea of what she was talking about. "Slow down!" the major demanded again. But Stella pushed the Jumper ever faster, now heading straight into the Jumper Bay entrance.

Sheppard was getting angry. "I am ordering you to slow down, you are going to kill us!"

Everything he said it only made her make the Jumper go faster. It was like all those times back on Earth, while she was driving in her car. Every time she approached her home or a specific place she was accustomed to go, she would speed up. Stella knew that no matter how fast she was going she would hit the brakes at the precise moment and everything would go smoothly. That was what she was doing now; she knew that everything was going to be ok.

She could now hear Sheppard screaming angrily beside her, but she kept going; straight to the entrance. At the last moment the Jumper stopped and she landed it perfectly inside the Jumper bay.

What happened next was known all over Atlantis, and since then she wasn't allowed to go near a Puddle Jumper.


	5. Here comes the Wraith

**Chapter V: Here comes the Wraith**

Sheppard and Ford were heading down the hallway and past a corner to the right. What the life signs detector was showing couldn't be right.

John 's thoughts were occupied with the discussion he had just had, and he was still feeling angry. But some of her words were imprinted on his mind, and he tried in vain to disregard them as just angry words: _'I made her an outcast... she let herself be an outcast!'_

He remembered the day clearly, and after giving it some thought, John knew that he partially at fault for what had happened that day. Elizabeth was mad at him, not only because of their little encounter when the nanovirus attacked, but she was fuming because of the bets going on the day before the incident. She had somehow managed to get word that he had bet with Rodney that he would go with her to their new bar. She had accepted, he was happy and in the night after drinking a lot she had left him alone, right after telling him that she wasn't pleased about the bet. Now more memories invaded his mind as he remembered that Rodney had lost the bet, and John spent most of the day, thinking up more ways to tease the loser. He'd been so distracted that day, that he didn't pay attention to his work, and at the moment, he hadn't felt he needed to do much as Sgt. Stackhouse had informed him earlier that Stella was a good pilot and was learning fast. But then she'd screwed it up and she blamed it on him. Too bad for her.

So, now he tried to think about the problem at hand. They were trapped at the end of the hallway. He took another look at the life signs detector, and an expression of worry came over his face.

Ford saw the expression on his CO's face. "What is it? Sir?"

"I don't think–"

But before John could finish his sentence, a particularly big and ugly Wraith appeared beside Ford. Instantly the Wraith smacked the young man in the chest sending him several feet back. Sheppard took his gun and managed to shoot twice, but the Wraith hit him in the face. John staggered backward into the wall. Before he could recover, the Wraith grabbed him by the throat and demanded, "Where is she?"

John was a little confused by the question, and the Wraith must have seen it in his face because he asked again, "The girl, where is she?"

Then John's radio came alive – it was Bates. He quickly tried to shut it off, but the Wraith took it away from him.

-0-0-0-0-

Stella was now sitting on the floor; she knew that if they were to remain there any longer she would start to doze off pretty soon. At the moment, she wished she could be in her big bed, she had back on earth.

Her daydream stopped when she saw Lt. Ford land on the floor at the end of the hallway, right in the corner, then followed by gunfire. Bates, who had been standing guard, grabbed Stella by the arm and dragged her to the closest door. He opened it and the two dove into a dark room.

Stella looked straight at Bates – or rather, at the spot in the impenetrable blackness where she thought he was. "What are you doing? Shouldn't we be out there helping them?"

Stella could feel Bates's eyes drilling into her as he said firmly, "No. You need to stay out of that hallway. _I _should be out there helping them." Bates now clicked on his radio. "Major Sheppard, come in. Major Sheppard What's going on out there?" When there was no answer, he said to Stella, "Stay here."

Bates had started to move toward the door, but Stella cut him off. "No, no, no, you're not leaving me alone!"

"They are out there, you said it yourself, and they need help."

But before Stella could reply, the radio came alive, "Sergeant Bates."

Bates responded quickly. "Is everything all right, sir?"

"I am three inches away from having my life sucked out of me. He wants Stella."

Both Stella and Bates replied, "What?"

"Bates, take her away from here."

Her eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness, Stella now snatched the radio away from Bates. "Wait! No! Major Sheppard, we can help you!"

"Stay away, Stella!"

Now Stella could hear the Wraith's creepy voice on the other side, she couldn't understand what he was saying. Stella just snapped, "What the hell do you want me for? You had your opportunity to feed on me! I thought that after five times you would give up."

Now she could hear the sounds of a struggle, then Major Sheppard's voice, "Shut up!" There was another ruffled sound and now the Wraith's voice was heard, "I can be very patient. Eventually I will feed on you."

Stella felt a shiver going through her body, the creature continued, "Humans such as yourself are harvested and aged."

Stella couldn't control herself, "What am I, wine?"

But the creature ignored her and continued, "I can feed right now."

Stella's mind raced fast; she didn't know what she was doing. Now she could feel Bates staring, she was negotiating with a Wraith, she had never negotiated anything in her life. The radio came alive again. "Shall I take his life?"

Instantly and full of fear, Stella shouted, "No! Please don't!" There was silence, and she continued, "OK, you can have me, but let them go."

"You are in no position to demand anything. If you surrender to me, you won't have to see them die. Or else I'll kill them all so you are the only one left."

"Then I have a proposition. I am right in front of the transport doors. Come and get me, let the others go for now. You will have me, and then you can play hunter with the others. I've heard that you guys like to play with your food."

There was silence once again. Stella walked toward the door, but Bates now stood in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"I know he'll come for me. I can save Major Sheppard. I'm the one the Wraith is really after."

But before Bates could stop her, Stella stepped around him and out the door. he heard her say, "Stay there please," she said.

Bates now looked toward where Ford lay sprawled on the floor, then back at Stella. Realizing what she had in mind, he stayed inside the room with the door half open.

Stella stood in the middle of the hallway, and soon saw the Wraith walk around the corner dragging Major Sheppard. Once the Wraith had a clear view of Stella, flung Sheppard across the hallway. The major hit the floor and stayed there.

The Wraith kept on walking towards Stella. She felt now that her body was trembling. She now feared that Major Sheppard was injured, but tried not to think about it. Dwelling there could bring up the guilt of her last words to him, and she needed to focus.

The Wraith was getting closer and closer, and Stella felt her body stiffen by the minute. The creature was now no more than 15 feet away from her. She had never felt so scared in her life. Stella couldn't believe that after her encounters with the creature, she was now willingly placing herself within his grasp.

The creature stared at her like a kid ogling his favorite lollipop before eating it. Her head began to feel heavy, growing worse as the Wraith approached. She sank to her knees, the heaviness was so deep that she could barely open her eyes.


	6. Kiss and Make up sort of

**Chapter VI: Kiss and make up... sort of.**

Stella heard gunfire, very far away. But then the heaviness faded away, when she opened her eyes, Bates was right in front of her. "You are really crazy, you know that? Are you ok?"

Stella nodded and looked around. The creature was lying right in front of her, dead. Shakily, she stood up and walked towards Sheppard, only to discover that he was still out cold. Stella now saw Bates approach Ford.

Taking a closer look, Stella saw that Sheppard had a cut on his left cheek and a nasty bruise on the forehead. She was afraid to touch him, fearing that something might be broken. She looked again toward where Bates was and noticed that he was helping Ford sit up.

Stella was caught off guard when Sheppard let out a small groan. She knelt beside him and touched him on the shoulder. "Major Sheppard? Can you hear me?"

-0-0-0-

John didn't know what he was feeling at first, then he gave an involuntary groan when the pain in his forehead registered. Then he heard Stella's voice, and he opened up his eyes. She was looking at him, concern in her eyes. Suddenly, he remembered what had happened. The Wraith had asked for her, and by radio she had given herself to the creature. What they had done after that was beyond him.

John sat up and touched his cheek, finding blood there. He looked through his vest and took out a small gauze pad, then looked to his side, and saw that Stella was looking pale.

She was acting as if there was nothing more interesting than her hands and the floor underneath her. John was about to ask what had happened when Ford and Bates arrived where they were.

Sheppard stared at Bates. "Sergeant... What happened?"

Bates pointed toward where the creature was lying dead, then proceeded to explain what they had done. When he was finished, Bates offered a hand to Sheppard to help him stand up. John looked now at Ford – the young lieutenant was holding one hand to the side of his chest. "Are you ok?"

"My chest hurts, but I think it was just the hit. I'll be fine."

Bates looked at Sheppard. "How about you?"

"Well, I'll have one hell of a headache for the next few days, but I don't think anything is broken."

Bates handed the life signs detector to Sheppard, who did a quick scan and placed it inside a pocket. "We need to move out, there is no point in staying here anymore."

Ford frowned. "Why?"

"Because there's more Wraith around, at least two more. That is what I was trying to tell you when this Wraith showed up. But now they're out of range of the detector and the city's sensors are no use here. I'm not going to stay here to wait until they discover that we killed this one."

As Major Sheppard pulled out his radio to fill in Dr. Weir on the situation, Stella's body finally decided to obey to her commands and she slowly stood up.

John ordered the repair team for the transport to turn around. Evidently, Sheppard had decided that it would be best to walk out of there. When finished, John ordered to Ford and Bates to remove the body of the Wraith and put it in the closest room, because he didn't want the other Wraith to find their companion.

Once they were ready, they moved out, and John took another glance at Stella. She still hadn't said a word or complained about anything, which was highly unusual on her part.

Then they started walking and they walked a lot, up some stairs down some others, trying any transport that was on their way. Most of it felt like going in circles; every now and then John would look at the life-signs detector, but still he felt that they weren't making any progress. Nightfall was approaching, so he decided to take a little rest. John checked the detector and saw the dots moving, but the creatures were at a safe distance. He now realized that, whether they stopped or not, they were going to have to confront these two Wraith.

He looked at the group around him. Sgt. Bates was on the alert, Ford was still rubbing a hand to his chest – maybe he had broken something. And Stella was sitting on the floor, her head resting on her knees. He had questions for her and some other stuff to say. Most of it would have to wait until they get out of the current situation they are. He looked right at Stella and closed in on her. Seeing the movement, Stella looked up at the Major and he asked, "How did you know that the creature would come to you so easily?"

"He said he wanted to age me, maybe they do what we do with wine. The older it is the better it tastes."

Sheppard wasn't convinced – there was something else. "Yeah, but you must've done something, for him to want to age you instead of just feeding right now."

Stella seemed to think about it and then made a disgusted expression. "You don't wanna know."

"Let's say I do."

Stella looked at the three soldiers around her, "I have an idea, but you know I could be wrong. I guess they don't like it either when someone kicks them between the legs."

Bates frowned, Ford made a disgusted look, and Sheppard stared at her in confusion. "How the hell do you know that?"

Stella repressed a smile when she saw their reaction, then continued, "Because I accidentally kicked him one time he got really close to feeding on me. After that he just got really weird."

John now made a face, and Stella couldn't identify the expression. he said then, "Ok, I think THAT now falls squarely into the realm of 'too much information'."

Stella shrugged in response. "You asked."

Then Ford decided to interrupt them. "That might not be the case now. You didn't know there were others."

Stella shook her head. "No, it was always the same one."

Now Ford just seemed to think out loud. "How the hell did they get here?"

Bates now moved closer to the group and replied, "Maybe it was the scout from the other day."

John nodded. "What we need is to get out of this area and find a working transport."

Sheppard walked toward the wall to use the panel there. He looked through the map and finally sighed, "Damn it! Transports are damaged or hallways are not fit to walk through. No way out."

Sheppard now saw Stella raise her hand, and he asked a bit more snappishly than he had intended, "What?"

"Couldn't we go outside?"

At first John didn't understand her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we go out on one of the balconies at sea level, get out walk along the pier, and climb up on some other section of the city. One where the transports aren't disabled."

John didn't say anything. It couldn't be that simple. He took another look at the map on the panel. Then he took out his life-signs detector – the dots were moving closer. John looked at the group. "We can't go back to sea level. If we do, we are going to run into the two other Wraith sooner than expected."

It was Bates's turn to interrupt. "Maybe we can find a closer balcony and climb down."

Ford continued, "That could work. If we manage to stay away from them, we can return later fully prepared and deal with the creatures."

Sheppard nodded. "All right, let's move it." John checked the map once again then took a look at the life-signs detector. The Wraith were now getting closer, and he would rather manage them with a full military team than with half a team with an injured soldier and a civilian. Now he turned around to face the group, "There's one at the left end of this corridor. Come on."

They all moved quickly, it was a unanimous wish to get the hell out of there. Once they arrived at the end of the hallway, Sheppard handed the life-signs detector to Ford. "Make sure they don't follow us."

"Yes, sir."

Sheppard, Bates and Stella walked out to the balcony. Stella hesitated for a moment, remembering the incident that put her in this situation.

Bates handed Sheppard a rope. The Sergeant was helping John with it when Ford's voice was heard through the door.

"I think the Wraith have spotted us."

John nodded to Bates and the Sergeant went inside to give Ford some backup.

Stella moved closer to Sheppard, just as he threw the rope out of the railing. He looked down and shouted, "Damn it! It's too short."

Stella looked down and noticed that he was right: the end of the rope was only halfway down. She suddenly remembered the items she had in her backpack and took out another rope from it.

John stared at her, confused. "Why do you carry a rope?"

Stella gave him a small smile. "I use it with my cameras. I tie them up and swing them off from balconies, for experiments."

John shook his head and retrieved the end of the first rope, so he could knot the two together. While he was at it, he thought of something, something that should have occurred to him a while ago. "Stella... about what happened with the Wraith – that was a very stupid thing to do–" She was about to retort when he held up a hand, "–but you saved Ford's life and my life... so thank you."

Stella looked a little out of place, but remained quiet once again. She really wanted to say something about their fight earlier, but the courage seemed to have abandoned her. There was silence; it was the first moment in months that they weren't at each other's throats. So Stella decided to risk it. "Does this mean that I can go near a Puddle Jumper now?"

If it hadn't been for their current situation, John would've smiled. But he gave her request a thought. "If we manage to get out of this, we'll talk about it."

Stella smiled, and John clicked his radio. "What's the situation lieutenant?"

Ford's voice came out, "They are not moving. The creatures started to show some illusions, but they seemed to have stopped. They're still really close though."

"Ok, I'm going down now." John started to ready himself to climb down the balcony.

Stella was now debating within her if this was the right moment to ask, but then again she might not have another chance after they return to the civilized part of the city. "What about weapons training?"

Without hesitation, John replied, "No."

Stella was flushed for a moment, but she really wasn't ready to take no for an answer. "What if the Wraith appear here sooner than expected? You're going to need all the help you can get. Please weapons training."

Stella knew that John was considering it. Finally, he said "Ok, if it means you'll leave me alone."

She would have screamed in that moment, but she was going to take advantage of his weak moment. "No, field training and I'll leave you alone. You won't even notice that I'm in the city."

"No way."

"Come on! It's not like I'm asking for my own team."

"No."

She was now really getting desperate. As Sheppard was starting to climb down, she looked at him and said, "I won't tell anyone that you sing in the shower."

John went deadly still. "How do you know that?"

Stella replied, "There are cameras all over the city, Major. Those cameras have audio, and my job is to sit on my ass and watch them all day."

"You have cameras in the showers?"

"No, but it appears that you get carried away sometimes; it gets pretty loud."

John seemed to think about it, but then shook his head. "No, I don't care."

Stella decided to give it another try. "I will tell about you and Dr. Weir."

Knowing what she was trying to do, John kept playing her game. "I don't care, you'll just feed the rumors. Still no."

Stella felt now that she was begging, but still, she wanted to be more productive. "Come on! It doesn't have to be with real weapons. We can practice on the mainland with my paintball guns."

Sheppard was impressed. "You have paintball guns?"

Stella nodded quickly and John seemed to really think about it, but he shook his head. "No."

Then Stella thought of something. If he said no after this one she would drop the whole thing. "I won't tell anyone about your Star Wars boxers."

Stella smiled. The look on John's face was priceless! "Deal! Now shut up!"

She gave him a mock salute. "Yes sir."

Stella knew that he hadn't liked that last one. _I guess being in charge of laundry has its benefits._

But it didn't matter if he didn't speak to her again. She was going to be able to be normal in this city.


	7. All goes to hell

**Chapter VII: All goes to hell.**

John was finally down on the pier; he now looked up and called out to Stella to come down. Stella was nervous, having her last balcony experience so close to her. She could see the sunset now from where she was standing. Seeing the alien sun going down, she wished they could deal with the Wraith quickly and hoped they wouldn't get stuck outside the city after night really fell. Then as carefully as possible, she started to make her way down, trying not to look down.

John was now watching Stella make her way down. He realized that, he in all the time he had spent in the city, dealing with all sorts of different people, he had been able to deal with them. All requesting different things, the scientists, the other military personnel, his duties as the ranking military officer, Elizabeth, none compared to Stella. No one in his life had been able to bribe him so blatantly, so openly, and get away with it. He had to give it to her, she had a way to deal with people. From what he had gathered, she could be obnoxious, stubborn and a bit childish, but it could certainly get her where she wanted to be. Now he wondered how the hell she had managed to smuggle a paintball gun in with her stuff. Then again, if she managed that, what other wonders might she be hiding on her stuff? Questions... questions that would have to wait.

John now realized that even if Stella knew it or not, she held a position of power in the city. No, she wasn't the leader, she was barely seen in the city at all, but she was responsible for the clothes of the whole city. _God know how she manages it. _But that gave her the opportunity to do some nasty damage if she wanted. And now that he thought of it, John remembered that one moment he had seen Kavanagh after the incident with Stella. Not only was his face was bruised, but now amused, John remembered, that the scientist was scratching himself all over. _Itchy stuff... of course, she had already gotten away with it._

Also, she saw all the footage her cameras captured. If she caught someone doing something out of order... oh, the possibilities for blackmail would be endless. _Ok, note to self, find out where all the cameras are._

On the other hand, if she knew that she could take advantage of her job and do some damage if she didn't like someone and had never done it, then it made her a person John never had guessed it existed. Yeah... definitely from now on he would be careful of what he did around her.

A click on his radio broke his thoughts, then he heard Ford's voice. "Sir, the Wraith are trying to get to us. We will stay here as long as possible, then we'll come down the rope."

"How close are they?"

"Almost here."

"Forget it. Just come down the rope and we will deal with them. We can't afford to split up now."

But the only reply was gunfire.

-0-0-0-0-

Stella was really trying to come down as fast as she could, but she felt it was taking an eternity. And that was without her looking down. Now she heard the major talking to the radio, then gunfire above her. She froze; didn't know what to do. Then she looked up, there was more gunfire and then she saw it, a Wraith looking down at her.

She froze, completely. Gunfire was heard again and the Wraith disappeared.

John saw it, and knew that if Bates and Ford had to make a quick escape, Stella couldn't be on the rope. "Stella, jump!"

She gaped at him in utter terror. "What?"

"Jump, they may need to make a quick escape!"

John heard Stella shout now, "I already fell from a balcony today Major. I have no intention of falling again."

He glared at her, a bit annoyed. "Stella, stop arguing and jump. You're not that far up."

Stella looked up and realized that he was right. She didn't wanted to compromise their lives because she didn't wanted to get hurt again… Stella closed her eyes and jumped. When she landed, she lost her balance, and John helped her steady herself.

They both looked up now, hearing more gunfire. John clicked his radio. "Ford, talk to me!"

Gunfire was heard over the radio. "Bates is down, sir, and one Wraith is dead. I would recommend you to get out of the way. The remaining Wraith managed to get onto the balcony while I was protecting Bates."

John looked up again and noticed the movements on the balcony. So he did the first thing that came to mind: he grabbed Stella by the neck of her tank top and dragged her out of harm's way. They hid behind a wide column just as the remaining Wraith jumped down from the balcony and landed gracefully nearby.


	8. All goes to hell: Part deux

**Chapter VIII: All goes to hell: Part deux**

Stella stared at the Wraith from her hiding place, then she looked at Sheppard and whispered, "What about Bates and Ford? They might need help."

John was now holding his P90 close to him, and he never took his eyes off from the creature, as he replied in the same whispered tone, "Stella, I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now. Bates and Ford can take care of themselves; I have to worry about keeping us alive."

Stella moved now closer to Sheppard. "What about Bates? He could be badly hurt."

John clutched his gun tighter as the creature moved in closer. "Stella, we are the ones in danger now. And if you want some field training, the first thing you learn is to be quiet." Stella was taken aback, but kept quiet.

The creature was now moving closer, an evil sneer on his face. John knew that the Wraith could sense them, and if they didn't move soon they would be within his reach. John hid behind the column, his mind was racing in what to do. Sure, he could just shoot all of his ammunition at the creature, but what if that didn't do it and the thing sprang to life again?

John started looking around, trying to find a way to escape, at least for the time being. Then he saw it: there was a balcony right at sea level towards the center of the city. They would just need to run along the pier. Once there they could just open the door and get inside. If in the process he managed to kill the creature, better yet – no more running.

John took another look at the creature; it was getting closer. For a moment John thought that by the movements the Wraith was making the only thing left to make the scene creepier would be for the creature to say, 'Come out, come out wherever you are.'

Now the sky was growing darker by the minute, and John now took another glance at the balcony he had chosen as an escape route. Then back at Stella, "Stella," he whispered, "Can you see the balcony towards the center of the city? It's right at sea level."

Stella looked down and replied, "Yes, what about it?"

"When I give you the signal, I want you to run as fast as you can."

"What?"

"Can you do that without second-guessing me?"

Stella sighed heavily. "I hate you so much right now."

"I know."

Stella looked toward where she had to run; the pier connecting this section of the city with the central part was a bit narrow. For someone who would walk along it, it was fine, but it didn't look so safe to go running through it.

John now looked at Stella. "I don't think this Wraith will have the same meal specifications as the last one. He's alone, hungry and he'll launch himself at the first human he sees."

Stella now replied, trying to hide her panic, "That would be me!"

"But I will stay behind, and if all goes well he'll be dead before you reach the balcony. Ok?"

"Sure."

John now took another glance at the creature; it was dangerously close now. "On the count of three, Stella."

Stella looked at the balcony, then back at John, and nodded.

John started, "Once you start, don't look back. I'll be right behind you. One... two... three! Go!"

Stella started running with all the strength left in her body, and as she came into the open, she knew the creature had seen her. Suddenly she heard gunfire, then Sheppard shouting, "Stella, keep running!"

Now Stella looked back, but instead of seeing Sheppard right behind her, as she had expected, the Wraith was right behind her and Sheppard was behind the creature. "Shit!" Was the only thing that she could say.

Stella managed to gather more strength; she was now halfway down the pier. Suddenly, she felt as if someone had slammed a bat into her back. That sent her flying forward a couple of feet, but she didn't go in a straight line. When she landed, she hit the ledge of the pier, and the last thing she knew was hitting the water.

-0-0-0-0-0-

John had given the 'Go' to Stella, and he saw her run towards the balcony. He waited for a couple of seconds to see the Wraith's reaction. At first the creature had stayed still and smirked, then the Wraith had started running towards Stella. John fired a couple of rounds, but the creature didn't even flinch at them. He just smacked John and kept running.

John was dazed for a moment and realized what had happened. He got up and saw the Wraith running right behind Stella, and shouted, "Stella, keep running!"

John was now running behind the Wraith. He didn't wanted to shoot his gun in case that he might hit Stella. The Wraith was now dangerously close to her. John knew that he must do something, but it was too late, the creature had reached her.

Sheppard now saw when the creature hit Stella, and he could only watch helplessly as she landed on the ledge of the pier and fell to the water. Now it was the moment. John started shooting all he had at the Wraith until the creature fell to the floor, dead.

John now knelt near the ledge and looked down. Stella was struggling to keep herself above water. He reached out to her. "Stella, give me your hand!"

She was trying to swim towards the ledge. "I... can't..." Stella extended her hand towards Sheppard, but she was still too far.

John kept trying to get to her. "Come on. Stella, just swim towards me. Give me your hand."

John knew that she was really trying, but her face was screwed up in pain. "I'm trying, but my leg... it hurts."

Stella moved a bit and extended her hand again, and this time she reached him. John grabbed a hold of Stella and pulled her towards the ledge. He had started to pull her up onto the pier, when Stella screamed. John looked back and saw that the Wraith was at his feet. The creature kicked him viciously.

Sheppard had landed on his back, the air was suddenly knocked out of him. He looked up and the creature was staring, he couldn't help himself. "You guys do like to play with your food."

The Wraith sneered, "How did she put it... 'We like to play hunter'.

"How do you know that? You weren't there!"

"What one of us knows, we all know. But I will not be as foolish. Why have one Lantian when I can have two? When I can have more?"

John knew the look the creature was giving him, and it sent shivers along his spine. Before he knew it he was being pinned down to the ground. John wasn't about to give up, but now he had no way to defend himself.

The creature was holding John with one hand, while with the other it ripped open his vest and jacket. The creature's hand receded, it was wide open now. John prayed for a miracle.

Then one moment he was watching death stare at him in the face, then the next, gunfire erupted and the Wraith was filled up again with bullets. John sat up and looked behind him. Lieutenant Ford and Sergeant Bates were there with their guns up, walking in a straight line towards John. Sheppard smiled and nodded, acknowledging their presence.

John then turned where he had left Stella, and she wasn't there.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After the Wraith knocked John aside, Stella tried with all her will to keep holding on to the ledge. She was definitely sure of something, her leg must be broken. The pain was so bad that it was now overtaking her. Stella tightened her grip on the ledge, but she started to feel sleepy, tired and her eyes started to drop.

Stella felt herself floating – maybe it was the water. But there was no more pain… with a sudden jerk, she realized that for a moment she had forgotten about Sheppard and the Wraith.

Now Stella saw the Wraith hovering above her. She wanted to push him away, the creature was now closer. Stella felt her chest tighten up, and she was short of breath. She wanted to breathe, breathe and smack that evil smile off the damned creature.

Stella started to move her hands, trying to smack the creature right in the face. And she did. When she opened her eyes, Stella was now dripping wet, sitting on a pier with three soldiers looking at her with worried expressions. She was now gasping for breath, looking around her. Ford was there, Bates had now, gashes across his neck and Major Sheppard was climbing into the pier.

Then just as sudden she had woken up, the pain in her leg exploded. She cried out, holding the leg, and Bates closed in on her and pushed her back down. "Lie down Stella."

Stella was on the verge of tears. "Oh God! It hurts so much."

She saw Sheppard kneel at her side; he was dripping wet too. John took Bates's radio, and the last thing she heard before she succumbed to the pain was Sheppard asking for Dr. Beckett.

-0-0-0-0-0-

John had decided it was best to ask the doctor before moving Stella any further. He now heard Carson's thick accent over the radio, "Major? What's the situation?"

John followed to explained what had happened to Stella. Carson ordered John to make sure if the leg was broken and the exact place of fracture. The doctor started giving instructions, and John paused and looked at Bates. "Do we still have an emergency kit?"

Bates now looked through his vest and found a small pack with basic emergency items. John looked through the items. "I need scissors."

Bates found a pair and handed it to the Major.

Following Carson's instructions, John cut the side of Stella's trousers, right along the leg. But he didn't have to search for the fracture point. Stella had a big bruise in the form of a line on the side of her thigh. John followed to informed Carson of his find, and the doctor replied, "We need to make sure, Major. Try to find the point of tenderness."

"And that is?"

"The exact point of fracture." Carson followed to explain and give instructions, and Sheppard started to gently press his fingers into the bruised area.

Because of the pain, Stella suddenly awoke with a groan.

John kept going until he found what Carson was asking for. He relayed the information to the doctor and Carson replied, "Realign it and make sure she has a strong pulse on the rest of her leg. I'll tell you how to splint it, and we'll finish up in the infirmary."

"Ok, just give me the instructions and we'll be good to go."

John signaled Bates to help him, while Ford stood over making sure that the Wraith wasn't going to wake up again. Carson started giving off the instructions to realign Stella's leg. The two men took their positions, Bates was holding the knee and John was holding the upper thigh. They pulled, and Stella screamed.

Concern shot across Bates's face. "Can't we do something for the pain? I think..." Bates now started searching the small bag and found what he was looking for. He looked at Sheppard. "We have some morphine, that might help."

John spoke with Carson about Bates's idea, and the doctor replied, "I don't think it'll be a problem. I think that 5mg should be enough."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Stella couldn't believe how much her leg was hurting. She didn't even want to know what they were doing. Now she stared at the now black sky. Stella felt when Bates and Sheppard were grabbed her thigh, and the next thing she knew, she was screaming out in pain.

_Breathe, breathe! And the pain will go away. _ That was almost her personal mantra when she felt a sharp jab on her other leg. She quickly looked up and saw Bates taking out a needle. "Ouch! What the hell are you doing? I already have one injured leg, I don't need you to damage the other!"

Bates put out the needle back into the pack and replied, "Calm down, Stella. I just gave you something for the pain. You will be ok."

Stella didn't stopp glaring at Bates until her world began to spin and she lay in a semiconscious state.

Sheppard and Bates now followed to finish the setting and splinting of her leg. They knew that Stella didn't even noticed when the bone fell in place or when they tried to immobilized the leg as best as they could or when Bates carried her out of the pier.

Stella was beginning to regain consciousness but felt incredibly groggy; by then they were finally inside the city and Bates placed her on the floor. Her back was resting on the wall.

John now informed control that they were moving out. When he finished he heard Stella talking to Bates. "Hi Colin..." Her voice was clearly slow and drugged, and she continued, "What's gonna happen if we don't return to Earth... and all of our soaps, deodorants and razors supplies run out?"

John smiled at the drug induced question, but chuckled at the answer Bates gave. "We're gonna be a big, hairy, stinky group."

John saw that Bates and Ford smiled at the comment. John moved towards the group, "Ok, time to move out."

Bates slowly stood up and went to reach for Stella, but Sheppard stopped him. "Don't worry Sergeant. I'll take her."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm the least banged up. It's only fair." John now reached for Stella. "Come on, Stella, it's time for a ride."

Carefully John picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Holding her carefully, not wanting to mess her leg further. She groaned a bit but then she was silent.

They were now reaching the transport doors when they heard Stella say, "Hey Bates! I have a VIP view of Major Sheppard's butt."

Silence. Nobody said a word.

John didn't know if he should laugh or remain still when he felt something, _no it can't be._ He felt it again…_ did she just pinch my butt? _Then she did it again. John looked at Bates, "Sergeant, she's pinching me."

Bates was confused for a moment, then he looked at Stella. That confirmed what the Major had said. Bates grinned at Sheppard. "We're almost there sir."

But Ford couldn't control his laughter anymore when Stella suddenly shouted, "Oh! I know! Let's make a booty contest!"


	9. Waking up and paintball promises

**Chapter IX: Waking up and paintball promises.**

Stella woke up feeling the groggy – the side effects of whatever they had given her. She slowly opened her eyes. The area was quiet, maybe too quiet. Once her sight cleared, she looked around her bed. Bates was sitting on a chair next to it, sound asleep. Stella took a good look at the Sergeant and noticed the bandage on his neck. Her mind started wandering, but her thoughts weren't clear enough, she had no idea how they had finally gotten out of that pier.

Slowly, Stella sat up, feeling achy all over, but at the same time it was manageable for her goal. She tried to move, but realized that there was a cast on her left leg. That didn't stop her, though, and with a mischievous grin across her face, she moved closer to Bates, then smacked him lightly on the forehead.

Bates woke up with a start, startled he looked around, and then realized that it was Stella. He gave her a mock glare that was quickly replaced with a smile. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

Stella now returned to a comfortable position on the bed and glared at Bates, "Sleeping Beauty? More like beat up Shrek. How long have I been out?"

"Twelve hours."

Now, Dr. Beckett appeared, on the infirmary, probably attracted by the voices. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Stella looked at the doctor. "Ok, given the circumstances."

Carson started to check on Stella, once he finished, she looked at the doctor, "What about the others?"

Beckett gave Bates a glance and replied, "Sgt. Bates here had some cuts on his neck and a concussion. Lt. Ford had a cracked rib and Major Sheppard was just bruised up. No permanent damage for anyone."

"What about me?"

"A small concussion, a bruised back and a broken femur. You need at least six weeks for the leg to heal up, although it might be more time; everything depends on how your body heals up. But other than that, you'll be fine."

Now Stella wondered how she was going to endure six weeks with the damned cast on her leg. Then she heard Dr. Beckett say, "Also, you should know lass, you are quite the talker when you're drugged."

Stella stared at the doctor in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Carson looked at Bates and back at Stella. "Ask the good Sergeant here. He should be able to tell you the whole story. Now I need to check on something; call me if you need anything."

Stella nodded and once the doctor was out of sight, she looked straight at Bates. "What was he talking about?" Stella saw that Bates was now repressing a laugh, and tried to press on, "Colin..."

Bates heard the menacing tone on Stella's voice when she said his name, so he decided to begin with, "You called him the sexiest doctor alive."

"WHAT?"

Bates smiled. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Stella thought about it for a moment. "We were on the pier... you stuck a needle in my leg!"

Bates was really trying to keep a straight face. "Yes, and the drug made you act..."

Stella's face was now riddled with concern. "How?"

"Happy."

"How happy?"

Bates started telling Stella about her comments on Major Sheppard's butt, that she pinched him and so on. Stella felt she was getting smaller as she covered her face with her hand. Her mouth was hanging open in shock. She couldn't say a word, then Bates continued, now telling her about the contest, "You did the contest, picked the winner and then..."

Stella was speechless, but she gathered strength and asked, "Then what?"

At this moment, Major Sheppard walked in the room and finished for Bates. "And then, somehow you thought that my butt cheeks were bongos. Honestly, is a miracle that I can sit down at all."

Startled by his sudden appearance, Stella slowly covered herself with the bedsheets and whispered, "Bates, please make it quick! Use a pillow or your gun, but kill me now!"

John smiled and reached up for the bed sheet and took it off Stella's face. "There's no need for that. Besides, how are we going to do field training without you here? And I still want to see those paintball guns of yours."

Bates smile suddenly faded and he stared at Stella. "You have paintball guns?"

Like a kid caught up doing something wrong Stella nodded, and Bates continued, "And were you planning on telling me?"

Stella tried to look innocent. "You are the head of security, if I told you something like that... you would've wanted to know how I got them and..." Stella stopped, seeing the hurt look on Bates face, then she continued, "I was going to tell you... eventually."

Seeing Bates's reaction to the news, John placed a hand on the Sergeant's shoulder. "It's all right, Sergeant, I'm sure miss Roig is willing to share. Right?" John was now staring at Stella.

She looked guilty and replied, "Yes."

Bates now smiled at Stella. "It's ok, as long I'm in the game I don't think it's going to be a problem. Now..." Bates stood up, "I'm going to take a much needed nap, Stella. I'll be back later."

Stella nodded in acknowledgment and the Sergeant walked out of the infirmary. She now looked at John. "What about the Wraith?"

"We have a couple of teams searching the area, and fixing the transports. So far I think those were the only ones here."

John and Stella stared at each other in an awkward silence. Stella now decided to say something that was long overdue. "Umm... Major..."

"Yes?"

Stella was now really debating if she should do it, but her conscience won. "I want to... I need to apologize, not only because I said some horrible things to you yesterday. But also about the incident, I should have never done that and yesterday… I…"

John now looked at Stella, his face serious, and he cut her off. "Don't."

"No, I must. I acted very... un-grown up."

Now John moved and sat on the chair previously occupied by Bates, and continued, "Don't. If you start apologizing, then I'll have to apologize, and we'll get all mushy and hugsy and..."

At that comment, Stella gave John a look that screamed, '_Are you kidding me?'_

John kept quiet for a moment, then said, "We both acted... out of age. So, let's do this; you saved my life, I saved yours. Now we're square."

Stella eyed Sheppard suspiciously. "So... we're good?"

John nodded, but Stella kept staring at him. "Are you sure?"

John smiled, "Yes, besides, I can't wait to show you how much fun you're going to have in training." Now he was giving Stella a mischievous glare.

Stella was sure she didn't like the smirk on his face. "You know Major, I never meant what I said. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. I'm not going to tell anyone about what kind of underwear you wear."

"And let you keep those guns all to yourself. I don't think so." Stella smiled, and John continued, "Now I wonder, how were you able to bring that to Atlantis?"

Stella now smiled mischievously and replied, "That's a secret I'm going to keep."

"How many do you have?"

"Four."

"FOUR?" John gave her a suspicious glare, "I'll get it out of you somehow." Now John stood up to leave, but Stella stopped him. "So... who won?"

"Excuse me?"

Stella felt a bit embarrassed, but what dignity did she have left to lose? "Bates told me that I made a "booty" contest. I want to know who won. Was it you?"

John smiled, remembering the incident. "Why do you think it was me?"

"I don't know. You seemed to be the one I harassed the most."

John smiled. "Well to keep your embarrassment at bay, I didn't won. You gave that honor to Sgt. Bates. I was second place."

Stella sighed. "I'll never hear the end of it, but somehow I can deal with that."

Sheppard smirked. "I'll let you rest now. But I'm coming back and I will harass you until we can take those toys of yours out to play."

Stella chuckled softly. "I know you will."

As Major Sheppard walked out, Stella knew she had made a mistake in letting Sheppard on her secret. Maybe it was for the best. Now Stella thought about all the punishments and revenge acts that were waiting for her once she began her training. _Damn it!_ Why she didn't thought of it, but thankfully that was in two months from now. Stella had a lot of time to mentally prepare herself for what Sheppard might be planning for her.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After spending her two most boring months of her life, Stella was finally set free. Today Major Sheppard had awakened her very early. He had everything prepared for her first day. Actually, Sheppard had set aside the whole day on the mainland; somehow Stella knew that Sheppard would want to use the guns for more than just training.

With that thought Stella made her way towards the Jumper Bay.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

John couldn't remember how long it had been since the last time he had had this much fun. At first he was all military with Stella, and to make it harder they were accompanied by Ford and Bates. The only reason they were there was because they wanted to play with the guns a bit. The first three hours were of pure training, and John knew he had made it hard enough. Stella had seemed at the brink of protesting a couple of times, but she did as she was told. But after the first three hours they just wanted to have a game of paintball.

After that they spent the rest of the day playing. John had teamed up with Stella, so he could pass tips to her. She hadn't done badly in her training, wasn't excellent but she could take orders if an emergency arrived.

Then by some weird chance he discovered that she could aim almost perfectly. But that he discovered at Lt. Ford's expense. Sgt. Bates had warned the Lieutenant not to challenge Stella. But Ford had turned a deaf ear.

Now he was sulking at the rear part of the Jumper. The inside of the ship was in complete silence. Ford was in the back, Sheppard driving, Bates to his side and Stella was sitting behind Bates with a smirk that could rival those of Major Sheppard.

After the quietest trip of their lives, John finally landed the Jumper inside the Jumper Bay. Now Stella jumped to her feet and placed a hand on John's shoulder. "Just drop the guns at my quarters later."

John nodded, and Stella walked towards the rear part of the Jumper. John looked at Bates, then they heard Stella's voice. "Good evening Dr. Weir."

Now John stood up and walked to the exit of the jumper, Bates walked close behind him. They found Ford still sitting in the back of the Jumper. John tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, Lieutenant, you'll get your revenge in the next time."

John heard Ford mutter something along the lines of, "She's evil."

It was actually a funny sight, seeing Ford's forehead splattered with pink paint. Now the three soldiers walked out of the Jumper only to find Elizabeth Weir waiting for them outside. Her arms were crossed, her face serious. Until she saw Ford. Then all she was doing was trying to repress a laugh. "I was about to send a rescue team. You are two hours overdue."

Elizabeth eyed Ford again and smiled. John stepped forward. "I'm sorry, we kind of forgot about the time."

Elizabeth eyed Ford again. "And, may I ask what happened to you, Lieutenant?"

Ford tried to control himself to answer, "She waited an hour, we were ready to go, but she waited an hour. Until she got me on sight, why did I open my mouth?"

Bates now smiled. "I warned you. She might not be a soldier, but she spent her weekends at home playing with her brothers. She does know how to aim."

Now John continued, "Don't worry, Ford, that's some bump you're gonna have for the next week. But you can make her suffer for it on the next time."

Ford shook his head and started walking away. Bates walked with him and said, "Just remember, next time she's driving."

Ford was now really angry. "Next time I'll get her." And the two soldiers walked out of the Jumper Bay.

John now looked at Elizabeth; she was giving him a stare. "What?"

"Paintball? And you didn't even invite me?"

John frowned, but then relaxed. "You can play with us next time."

"I better, or I might feel inclined to confiscate those items." She gave John a smile and turned around. "We just received this month's share of that drink you love."

John's face lit up. "We have beer?"

Elizabeth stopped at the door and turned to look at him. "Yes, so I suggest you take a bath. The bar will be opened tonight only and I want to enjoy the night." She placed such emphasis in the word 'enjoy' that it sparked a smirk on John's face. Seeing this Elizabeth smiled and walked out of the bay.

John smiled broadly, he had just spent the whole day playing like a kid with new toys, and now he had a nice night to look forward to. He walked to his quarters, had a nice long shower and put some decent non-military clothes on. When he opened the door to leave, Stella was there and was about to knock. John stared at her; she was still in her painted military uniform. She was holding something on her right hand. "Stella... aren't you going to the bar tonight?"

Stella smiled a little shyly. "Yes, Bates must be waiting for me already."

John smirked at her and she quickly changed the subject. "But that's not why I'm here. I have been in my quarters, thinking for the last hour if I should give you this."

Now she handed him the item in her hand – it was two CDs. John looked at the disks and back at Stella. "What is this?"

Stella now started to stared at the floor. "I just want you to know that from the first disk, the only person who has a copy is Dr. McKay. I don't have a copy; I have deleted it from my hard drives. I definitely don't want anyone at the SGC to think I'm a perv..."

John was really confused. "Stella, what is this?"

Now Stella looked at him. "Is a copy of the footage from the day Dr. McKay lost his bet. You know the day of our incident, you running across Atlantis with no clothes on. Dr. McKay accompanied you. I really don't want to keep that in my hard drives."

John now looked at the discs in his hands, and noticed that Stella was turning around to leave. "Hey, Stella!"

She stopped and turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"What about this other one?"

John didn't like her reaction; she looked a bit embarrassed. "Well... that one is for your eyes only. I guessed you would want to keep something like that, without having the US government knowing what you have done in Atlantis."

John looked at her, really worried and confused. "What is it?"

Stella looked like a fish, she opening and closing her mouth several times before actually making a sound. "Well… it's… the… ummmmm… let's just say that the next time your hormones are having urges that only Dr. Weir can resolve… please stay clear of the hallways. You have scarred me enough."

With that statement Stella turned around and walked away. "See you later Major."

John was in shock; he wasn't sure that he even wanted to take a look at the disc. He now remembered all those encounters he had had with Elizabeth over this past couple of months. Some of them not on very private places. _That's how she knew! Oh shit!_ He thought about it again, Stella really had stuff to blackmail him with and hadn't used it. _Wow! I really have to be careful around that woman._

John looked at the discs again, he walked toward his desk and placed them in a drawer. He would look at them once he figured it out how to tell Elizabeth about them. _Yep... it's going to be an interesting night_.

FIN


End file.
